[House Report 108-777]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-777
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   PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO MISSION INDIANS LAND TRANSFER ACT OF 2004

                                _______
                                

 November 17, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4908]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4908) to transfer certain land in Riverside County, 
California, from the Bureau of Land Management to the United 
States to be held in trust for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno 
Mission Indians, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend 
that the bill as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission 
Indians Land Transfer Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF LAND IN TRUST FOR PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO MISSION 
                    INDIANS.

  (a) Transfer and Administration.--Effective on the date of the 
enactment of this Act and subject to valid existing rights, all right, 
title, and interest of the United States in and to the Federal lands 
described in subsection (b), including all improvements thereon, 
appurtenances thereto, and rights to all minerals thereon or therein, 
including oil and gas, water, and related resources, shall be held by 
the United States in trust for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission 
Indians, a federally recognized Indian tribe. The transferred land 
shall be declared part of the Pechanga Indian Reservation and 
administered in accordance with the laws and regulations generally 
applicable to property held in trust by the United States for an Indian 
tribe.
  (b) Description of Land.--The lands referred to in subsection (a) 
consist of approximately 990.74 acres in Riverside County, California, 
as referenced on the map entitled, ``H.R. 4908, Pechanga Land Transfer 
Act'' and dated September 13, 2004, which, before the transfer under 
such subsection, were administered by the Bureau of Land Management and 
are more particularly described as follows:
          (1) Sections 29, 30, and 32 of township 8 south, range 2 
        west, San Bernardino base and meridian.
          (2) Section 6 of township 9 south, range 2 west, San 
        Bernardino base and meridian.
          (3) Mineral Survey 3540, section 22 of township 5 south, 
        range 4 west, San Bernardino base and meridian.
  (c) Survey.--As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Office of Cadastral Survey of the Bureau of Land 
Management shall complete a survey of the lands transferred under 
subsection (a) for the purpose of establishing the boundaries of the 
lands.
  (d) Map on File.--The map referred to in subsection (b) shall be on 
file in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
  (e) Legal Descriptions.--
          (1) Publication.--On approval of the survey completed under 
        subsection (c) by the duly elected tribal council of the 
        Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, the Secretary of the 
        Interior shall publish in the Federal Register--
                  (A) a legal description of the boundary lines; and
                  (B) legal description of the lands transferred under 
                subsection (a).
          (2) Effect.--Beginning on the date on which the legal 
        descriptions are published under paragraph (1), such legal 
        descriptions shall be the official legal descriptions of the 
        boundary lines and the lands transferred under subsection (a).
  (f) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall--
          (1) enlarge, impair, or otherwise affect any right or claim 
        of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians to any land or 
        interest in land that is in existence before the date of the 
        enactment of this Act; or
          (2) affect any water right of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno 
        Mission Indians in existence before the date of the enactment 
        of this Act.
  (g) Restricted Use of Transferred Lands.--The lands transferred under 
subsection (a) may be used only for the protection, preservation, and 
maintenance of the archaeological, cultural, and wildlife resources 
thereon.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 4908 is to transfer certain land in 
Riverside County, California, from the Bureau of Land 
Management to the United States to be held in trust for the 
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 4908 transfers approximately 991 acres of public land 
(including improvements), in two parcels administered by the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the Pechanga Band of Luiseno 
Mission Indians. The lands, located in Riverside County, 
California, will be held in trust by the United States for the 
benefit of the tribe.
    The tribe seeks to acquire these lands in trust to preserve 
their archaeological, cultural, and wildlife resources. The 
larger parcel (approximately 971 acres) is adjacent to the 
Pechanga Reservation and it consists mainly of jagged, 
mountainous terrain. It contains important ancestral sites. The 
smaller parcel (approximately 20 acres) is 12 miles from the 
tribe's reservation, near land acquired in fee by the tribe 
several years ago from Riverside County. This parcel contains 
an important ancestral archaeological site, and is managed by 
the tribe under a memorandum of understanding with the BLM. The 
Pechanga Band desires to conserve and manage the properties for 
their cultural and wildlife values and has already enacted 
tribal laws and ordinances for this purpose.
    Under H.R. 4908, the land transfer is effected upon 
publication of a survey of the lands described in the bill. 
Improvements to the land are included in the transfer, and all 
such interests will be held in trust by the United States for 
the benefit of the tribe.
    After the bill was ordered favorably reported from the 
Committee on Resources, the Committee was made aware of the 
habitat conservation plan (HCP) for Riverside County and San 
Diego County prepared under the Endangered Species Act. The 
lands transferred under this bill are within that area. The 
protections provided under tribal law and under H.R. 4908 (as 
amended) for the transferred lands are consistent with this 
HCP; however, the Committee urges all parties including the 
tribe to study further any legal implications of the transfer 
on the HCP and resolve them expeditiously.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 4908 was introduced on July 22, 2004, by 
Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA). The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Resources. On September 21, 2004, the Full 
Committee held a hearing on the bill. On September 22, 2004, 
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Chairman 
Richard Pombo (R-CA) offered an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to place restrictions on development of the land 
conveyed to the tribe under this bill and to make other 
technical and clarifying changes. It was adopted by unanimous 
consent. The bill as amended was then ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget office, 
enactment of this bill could affect direct spending (including 
offsetting receipts) but any such impact would be 
``negligible.''
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

H.R. 4908--Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians Land Transfer Act 
        of 2004

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4908 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. The bill could affect 
direct spending (including offsetting receipts), but we 
estimate that any such effects would be negligible. Enacting 
H.R. 4908 would not affect revenues. H.R. 4908 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Enacting this bill would benefit 
the tribe and would have no significant impact on the budgets 
of other state, local, or tribal governments.
    H.R. 4908 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
give two tracts of federal land in California totaling 
approximately 991 acres to the Pechanga Indian Reservation, to 
be held in trust by the United States on behalf of the Pechanga 
Band of Luiseno Missions Indians. According to the Department 
of the Interior, the land to be conveyed currently generates no 
significant receipts and is not expected to do so during the 
next 10 years. Hence, CBO estimates that conveying the land 
would not significantly affect offsetting receipts (a credit 
against direct spending). Based on information from the 
Department of the Interior, we estimate that the administrative 
costs of the conveyance, including the required survey, would 
be negligible.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mike Waters. 
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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